The video game maker and educator responds to an ad by Jonathan Greenblatt from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), pointing out the antisemitism he experienced
Video game maker Luc Bernard made a Holocaust museum in the popular video game Fortnite. He was then hounded with “thousands” of anti-Semitic threats.
“I’ve gotten messages saying Hitler should finish the job, for me to kill myself, etc…” Bernard wrote on social media, adding “it’s by the thousands. It’s all out there.”
The video game maker and educator then reached out to Jonathan Greenblatt from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), saying the original projected was not funded by the organization, thinking a clarification on the matter would help.
He had created a virtual building within Fornite, called the Voices of the Forgotten museum, in which players would be able to see plaques describing the genocide perpetrated against Jews by Nazi Germany, as well as photos of Jewish resistance fighters and heroic individuals who rescued Jews.
“I feel a responsibility to make sure those who died are still remembered,” Bernard told Axios.
The independent developer also created a free video gamed titled “The Light in the Darkness”, that was set during the Holocaust, and released earlier this year. Physical Holocaust museums are invaluable, but in Bernard’s view, have their limits, telling Axios “it’s time to adapt.”
“Millions of dollars are invested in museums that I think are important, but to rely on that alone is to ignore the bulk of the population, who don’t go to these places,” he added.
“These days, people take selfies at Auschwitz and play Pokémon Go at Holocaust memorials. You can’t stop people from doing such things, and if you live in fear of them happening, then you take the risk of depriving the public of these places,” Bernard noted in his interview with Axios.
